Breaking Through The Mask
by narcotic-lullaby
Summary: Kagamine Len knew something was wrong with his childhood friend -and crush!- Hatsune Miku. But what he didn't know was that Miku's outer mask was hiding a deep, dark secret. Will Len find out? Or will Miku's secret remain to torture her forever? AU.
1. Interruption

The chilly, bright Sunday sky seemed to mock Hatsune Miku as she sat on the bench by her favorite lake while (for the millionth time) crying her eyes out.

"There there now…don't cry." A soft, calming voice told her. This voice belonged to Megurine Luka, Miku's confidant ever since she went to live with _him_…with Kaito.

She clearly remembered the say he asked her to live with him. It was the day after her parent's deaths during the summer and she was about to go into a foster home since she was too young to be legally on her own when Kaito stepped in. He just crossed the age limit to legally be an adult and offered to take her in. At first, she was shocked. Kaito was just an upperclassman at her school who knew Miku and her family through business purposes. Whenever he came over, he was polite and kind and Miku even developed a small crush for him.

She didn't understand why he offered to take her in, but it seemed like a _way_ better place to stay in than some random person's house. Besides, he even offered a job as a singer at a club he earned from his father so she wouldn't feel like a burden.

It seemed like an irresistible offer. But as the saying goes, there's more than what meets the eye. Accepting that offer was one of the worst decisions of her life. After she moved in, she and Kaito started to become "lovers". Mistake number two.

After a few days into her singing job, Kaito started showing his true colors and becoming possessive. Miku waved it off saying that it was just pressure from his dad from his dad and business, but she soon came to realize that it was just him. He didn't even let her contact any of her friends, or go out on her own. The only times where she was able to escape was on Sundays, when Kaito had to go out on business purposes. Whatever _that_ was. She was just glad to get rid of him.

There were some days where she just wanted to relax and instead of singing, but Kaito wouldn't hear of it. He kept saying that she would be going against the contract (which she blindly signed) and he would throw her out because "she should be grateful" that he let her stay here. And then, on a day very much like today, she'd try to put her foot down and revolt, and then he'd get really angry. Whenever he got angry he'd always beat her, causing her heart-- and sometimes bones--to break.

That's why she ended up here every Sunday to meet Luka. The older, pink haired girl would always make Miku feel a little bit better since she was the only on Miku could confide in; she didn't want to get her other friends involved. Gakupo…Sho…Meiko…Rin…_Len_…. If she told them, they'd probably do something stupid which Kaito would make sure he got revenge of. She definitely didn't want her friends to get hurt on account of her.

"Look on the bright side…" Luka murmured soothingly. "At least school starts tomorrow. You'll see your friends again. Everything will be okay…"

Miku hoped with all her heart that they would…

...but she was just holding on to a false hope.

"Miku, are you ready yet?" Kaito's voice echoed from downstairs to Miku's room.

"Yeah, wait a sec." she yelled back, taking one last look in the mirror. Her teal hair was neatly tied into two pigtails and her crisp white uniform shirt contrasted against her navy tie and plaid skirt. The only makeup on her face was a quick swipe of lip balm.

She rushed downstairs and saw the blue haired guy she grew to dislike so much. No doubt, Kaito looked attractive (he almost always did) with a couple of buttons undone on his shirt and with the navy tie casually lying around his slightly messy collar. He made the uniform look like some high end designer brand that belonged on the runway. But only Miku knew that the ugliest person lied beneath all those good looks.

"Shall we, madame?" Kaito smirked making a mock bow.

"Miku took her bag and didn't even look at him. "Whatever."

"Why so sad, sweetie?" Kaito whispered, looping his arms around Miku's waist and drawing his mouth close to her ear.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." said Miku in a forced laugh, shoving his arms away from her. If she showed her true feelings, Kaito would try to make her "feel better" and the last thing she wanted was to be around him more then she had to.

"Suit yourself." Kaito shrugged, opening the door and heading out to the car. Miku locked the door, taking in a deep breath of the chilly September air.

"There'll be a performance at four. Make sure you're ready by then." Kaito informed her, getting in the car.

"Four?!" Miku repeated incredulously. "But that's too early! It's right after school!"

"I know, but make it work. Kaito said, not looking at her. "There's a party reserved at that time and they requested especially for you."

Miku made a frustrated sound, rubbing her forehead. She hated it when Kaito randomly set up performances at inconvenient times. Just one more addition to her never ending list of reasons why she hated Kaito. She would've moved somewhere else, but she had no idea where to go. Also, if she did leave, she'd have no job, leaving her alone and penniless.

*_But at least I'll be free…._* a tiny, hopeful voice would always ring in her head, but it was always clouded by a major reality check: she'd probably be living on the streets if it weren't for Kaito.

Finally, the car pulled over in the parking lot of the school. It was funny; everything about the school remained the same yet her life was completely different than it was before summer. She sighed, a small amount of excitement pounding in her heart. She was finally gonna see her friends again!

Suddenly, Kaito hand prevented her from moving any further. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to check my classes." Miku muttered biting back a burst of rage. She wanted school time to be Kaito-free. She wanted school to be somewhere where she could relax, and being around him always made her tense.

"Oh, okay." He let go. "Well, then. See you at lunch."

Miku snorted. *_As if_* she thought but waved goodbye anyway.

Miku started walking through the familiar corridors and hallways of the school. It was great to see friendly faces of classmates, but her heart really ached to see her group of friends. She went up to a poster in the hallway when a blond torpedo attacked her.

"Mikuuu-chaaaan!" a bubbly, female voice yelled, attracting curious eyes. Miku was swung around in circles several times before she could finally meet the two blue eyes of one of her closest friends.

"Rin!" Miku grinned, hugging the blondie back. Suddenly, Rin pushed away while making an angry face.

"We're mad at you, ya know."

"Why?" Miku frowned.

"We haven't seen you all summer!" Rin exclaimed. "We tried to call you, but no one picked up! We even went to your house, but no one was there! No message, no contact….we thought something happened."

"Oh, it was nothing." Miku waved off, trying to change the subject. "I just moved. Tell me, how were you?"

Unfortunately for Miku, Rin wasn't the type to give easily. "Where did you—" she started, but was interrupted.

"Miku!" someone wrapped their arms around Miku, though they weren't at all possessive like Kaito was. "I've missed you!" a girl said.

Miku turned around to see a wide eyed brunette with spunk in her warm eyes.

Miku hugged her back. "I missed you too, Meiko."

Meiko was accompanied by three guys who also belonged in Miku's group: Gakupo, a tall guy who had long purple lock that girls would kill for; Sho, a hazel eyed green haired guy who had glasses and was the smart one out of the group; and last, but definitely not the least, Len.

He was Rin's twin and they both shared many characteristics like hair color and height, but there were things that set Len apart. Len's clear forest green eyes and ability to make Miku laugh, no matter what the situation, are just some of the few reasons why he held a special place in Miku's heart. Plus, she knew him for years so she came to grow the habit to turn to Len whenever she needed someone…before Kaito, that is.

"We looked all over for you! Where were you?!" Len asked angrily, getting close to Miku's face. When he realized that he was just centimeters from the surprised girl's face, he pulled back, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Len was getting _so worried_ when we couldn't find you." Gakupo said teasingly. "He almost—"

"Shhh!" Len reached to clasp a mouth over Gakupo's loud mouth, but Gakupo just pushed his blond head away with his hand while continuing.

"You know what he almost did, Miku?" Gakupo went on eagerly.

"Shut up!" Len repeated, glaring at Gakupo.

"Why? She should know…" the tall guy teased.

"But, seriously. " Sho cut into their argument. "Where did you go?"

Miku suddenly felt under pressure. Should she tell the truth, or should she lie?

"Um…it's kinda hard to explain…." Miku flustered.

"Well, all that matters is that you're here!" Meiko cut in. "You'd better not be leaving us again!"

"Yeah, and make that a promise!" Rin added, sticking her pinky out like they did since they were little kids.

"Promise." Mike agreed, wrapping her pinky along with Rin's. Miku smiled, feeling great for the first time in months. Suddenly, the bell rang.

"Miku, you're in the same homeroom as me." Rin informed Miku.

"Great!" Miku grinned. "Is anyone else with us?"

"I am." Sho said with a smile.

"Alrightie, then!" Rin announced loudly, "We'll see you guys later!"

After that, it turned out to be a great day for Miku. She felt everything was the way it was before summer, making her forget her troubles for a moment. To add to her delight, she had several classes with her friends: Languages with Gakupo and Meiko, History with Sho, Math with Rin and Meiko, Bio with Rin, Drawing with Gakupo, and (unfortunately) only one class with Len.

That class was the last one of the day, P.E., and Miku was getting really late to it. She had to stop a while after class and help the teacher pick up scattered papers that flew around the class when one classmate opened the window.

"Yeah, goodbye, ma'am!" Miku said hastily, dashing through the empty hallways to get her P.E uniform from her locker and then down to the Field.

She was nervous. Coach was a strict teacher when he had to be and disliked late students and who didn't come properly prepared to class. Right now, Miku was both of those things. She rushed to girl's locker room and tugged on the huge metal doors, but they were locked. She sighed and thought, *_Might as well show up, then…._*

She approached the Field, scanning the groups of students playing basketball for Len. She caught him talking to some other students, most likely a game plan. Miku waved at him and Len caught her eye. The blond broke into a wide smile.

"Miku! Where—" Len shouted, but stopped when he saw the stern Coach approach Miku.

"Hatsune! Where have you been?! It's been 25 minutes into class now!"

"Sir, I—" Miku started, but she knew it wasn't going to help the situation.

"And you're not even dressed!" Coach went on. "You might as well ditch this class at the rate you're going!"

"But I—"

"No explanations! How do you expect to pass my class if you show up like this every day?! This is a complete disgrace!"

"If you'd just—" Miku tried again through gritted teeth. She was cut off again, though this time it was someone else.

Len spoke up for Miku saying, "Sir, if you don't let her explain herself then how will you--?"

As per his habit, Coach cut Len off too. "Oh, so you're sticking up for her now, are you, Kagamine number 1?

"Yeah, because if you don't—"

"So now you're talking back to me?! Fine, then! Punishment for both of you!" Coach dragged Miku and Len to large looming wall nearby that was half painted.

"You will finish painting this wall, no matter how long it takes! I might even forgive you both for your behavior. Now, hurry up!" Coach thrust paintbrushes and gallons of light blue paint in both Miku and Len's hand.

"Stupid bastard." They both muttered when Coach was out of earshot. Len sighed and started painting the wall coarsely.

"I'm sorry!" Miku blurted, feeling guilty.

Len raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"For getting you into trouble. Sorry!" Miku repeated, bowing.

"You don't have to be!" Len picked her back up by her shoulders, feeling embarrassed. "Besides, you know how much I wanted to talk that guy down, right? He gets on my nerves!"

Miku smiled, feeling relieved. "You never will ya, Shortie?" she teased, using the nickname she chose for him ever since they were little.

"Shortie? Well then, _sea witch_…" Len countered, using the name for her that she hated so much. He called her that ever since they came back from a day at the beach and Miku's long teal hair became all frizzy and dirty because of sea water and wind. "Just to let you know, I grew _three centimeters_ this summer so technically, I'm not sure short anymore." He bragged and it was true; he was about Miku's height now.

"What did you do over the summer? Take steroids?" Miku joked, starting to paint too.

"Hey!" Len exclaimed angrily while Miku laughed. His expression softened as he saw her laugh. It was _great_ to be with her after so long.

All summer long, Len had been waiting for and expecting for her to show up sometime but despaired when he couldn't catch a glimpse of her at all. He would visit her previous, now vacant house everyday in hopes of seeing her, but was disappointed every time. He would go around town on his bike every Saturday to look for her, but he never found her.

It was as if she disappeared.

As Gakupo almost said, he was about to set up a search party, inform the police stations…anything to see her again safe and sound. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was when Sho talked some sense into and told him to calm down. Sho told him to probably wait until school starts and check if Miku would show up or not.

He was so worried about because, well, he **loved** her! This was just a short moment of attraction; this love for her grew after years and years of close friendship, happiness as well as sadness.

He planned to confess to her as soon as possible since he was pretty confident that Miku would reciprocate his feelings.

"Oh, Len…you have some paint here." Miku mentioned, pointing to the side of his cheek. Len wiped the side of his left cheek.

"No, it's the other side." Miku said. Len wiped his right cheek, but missed the stain again.

Miku sighed. "You're hopeless, you know?" she leaned over and wiped the stain away from him. Miku smiled and went back to the boring task of painting the wall. The wall was about half done by then.

Len tenderly touched the spot that Miku wiped the stain away from and a warm feeling enveloped him. Without Miku looking, he dabbed a small dot of paint on his face.

"Is there still more?" he asked slyly.

"Yeah, here." Miku gestured on her own face.

"Can you clean it?"

"Yeah, sure." Miku swiped the stain off. To bother her more, Len repeated the same process, but this time Miku saw him at his tricks.

"Is there still some left?"

"Yup, you want me to wipe it off?"

"Yeah."

Instead of cleaning the stain, Miku spread the stain all over his face and created a moustache on him, making him looks like a complete fool.

Miku struggled not to laugh. At that moment, Coach stepped in to check progress.

"Looks good. Be done with it by the bell." Coach said approvingly. He saw Len's face and raised an eyebrow before leaving while laughing.

"What's with that guy?!" Len asked, annoyed. Miku used every ounce of self restraint to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

"Dunno. Let's just finish painting this wall." Miku said, starting on the final strokes to complete the wall. By the time the bell rang, they finished and Coach gave them approval to leave. Len left to change out of his P.E uniform while Miku was cleaning paint off her with a tissue.

"_Mikuuu!_" Len shouted storming towards her. He was in his uniform but the paint was still on his face, making him look like a clown.

"What the heck is this?!" he pointed to his face.

"Paint." Miku replied simply, cracking up.

"It's not funny!" Len said, trying to look angry, but his lips were curving up anyway.

"It is!" Miku insisted, laughing even harder. "Sorry." Miku said finally, handing him a clean tissue. Len cleaned the paint off and they both started walking to the front of the school, where their group always met up after classes ended.

"It's been so long since I've pulled something off like that!" Miku said, satisfied.

"Yeah, took you the whole summer actually." Len frowned.

Miku's face fell a little and said, "I know…like I said, it's a long story."

"It must be….but it was so weird without you, ya know?" Len confessed. "It wasn't right…"

"Yeah, same here." Miku admitted. A slight blush appeared in her cheeks as she added, "I really missed you."

Len smiled, moving closer to her so their shoulders brushed together."I missed you too. A lot."

And then it became one of those moments they both craved. A silent moment where they both spoke their heart's wished through shy glances. A sweet, tender moment where they both treasured in their hearts.

It was at this moment that Len shoes to confess his feelings to her. "Miku, I wanna say something."

Miku smiled sweetly, making Len feel like she knew what he was going to say, and she just wanted him to say it. He practiced all summer for this moment, so without hesitation, he spoke.

"Miku, I lo—"

"**Miku!**"

That other voice cut into their special moment like a knife. Miku tensed as she saw the person who she wanted to avoid as much as possible, especially at this moment. Kaito walked over to Miku, not taking notice of Len or the many people around them.

Len might've been prepared to confess his feelings in front of Miku but he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

In front of everyone, Kaito pulled Miku into a possessive kiss, stunning her. At first Len assumed that Kaito was drunk or high or something, and all he wanted to do was rip Kaito to shreds. All thoughts escaped from his mind when he heard Kaito talk.

"I haven't seen you all day, darling, where were you? And who's this?" Kaito addressed Len, who looked completely shocked.

"Len." Miku muttered, not looking at the guy in the eye. She was too ashamed to look at anyone in the eye, especially Len. She felt tears forming in her eyes as she thought about what Len might be thinking right now. If only she could explain!

"Thanks for taking care of my girl, but I'm gonna have to take her from now." Kaito laughed. He was dragging Miku away when she mumbled one final word.

"_Len…_"

Len didn't look up at her as he whispered, "Just leave."

A feeling of pain, guilt and sadness stabbed Miku as she walked away with someone who she shouldn't be with. Whispers from gossipers and others swirled around her and Kaito and she caught the words 'slut', 'whore' and 'couldn't believe'.

Miku would just have to ignore these comments, forget about Len, try to keep her head high and plaster on a fake mask of happiness.

But for how long?

_**!Author's Note!**_

Many thanks to justpink for helping with this story! ^^ Love ya! And thanks to you all for reading my first chapter of this Vocaloid story. It's my first Vocaloid fanfic _evah,_ so I'd love to get some feedback on it! ^^

To start off, I just made this story because I love this pairing _**so**_ much and I had a plot in mind…so this story was born ^^ It took me a long time to make it though .

This story is different from my other KH story in many ways, I dunno how it turned out o.O First off, it's in third POV, while my other one is in second POV, so maybe you'll catch the word 'you' in this chapter or in future chapters. (Sorry xp) If you do catch any mistakes, please tell me as soon as possible, so I'll fix it asap!

So, what do you think will happen in the next chapter? Your thoughts on this pairing? Any parts you liked or disliked? Tell me all about it! I'd love to know!

~narcotic-lullaby


	2. Deception

*_Almost there…!_*

Miku was out of breath by the time the bell that started the school day rang shrilly around her.

*_C'mon hurry up!_* she told herself, speeding to the first class of the day. Thankfully, her Language teacher wasn't harsh, so Miku hoped that she wouldn't get into serious trouble. The teal-haired teen internally cursed Kaito for making her perform at The Club late into the night, causing her to groggily do her homework for an hour before she went crashing onto the bed at 2 a.m. What made her even angrier was that her alarm clock woke her up exactly at 6 a.m. to get ready for school.

Half panting, she finally entered her first classroom and rushed to a seat in the back of the room.

"So, turn to page—" the teacher stopped mid sentence and turned her glass adorned eyes to the red faced girl, who also froze mid-movement.

"Hatsune!" the teacher exclaimed in a sharp voice, looking at the clock. "Why are you so late?"

"Sorry, ma'am." Miku bowed, feeling her face turn redder from embarrassment. "I have no excuse for my tardiness, but please pardon me. I won't be late again."

As Miku hoped, the teacher softened. "Fine, take a seat then. And you better keep your word, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Miku agreed, though she doubted that she would be able to live up to her word. She sank into the seat closest to her, trying to avoid all the stares that she suddenly noticed.

*_Geez, I was just late for five minutes…it's like they've never seen someone late before._* She thought, sweeping over the gazes of her classmates until she saw Meiko and Gakupo staring at her too. Miku managed a small smile and wave but was confused when all her friends did was frown and turn back to the board.

For the rest of the class, she couldn't concentrate; all she thought of was the frowns she received from her friends. She couldn't pick up why they seemed so disappointed in her, or why her classmates kept sending her dark glares. Or whenever they were glaring, they would always turn to the person next to them and mutter something.

She pondered on this throughout the whole class until it ended, which couldn't come soon enough. As soon as the bell rang, Gakupo and Meiko rushed to Miku.

"So, is it true?" the both exclaimed in union.

Miku tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

"What's going around." Meiko answered, making the teal haired girl tense.

"Yeah…Rin told us there's something going around about Kaito kissing you and then taking you home." Gakupo added, folding his arms.

"Oh so now you know, huh?" Miku muttered, looking down.

"So is it true?" Meiko pressed, her frown deepening into her already anxious brown eyes.

Without looking up, Miku nodded. Meiko gasped and comically fell into Gakupo's arms.

"G-get up, Meiko!" Gakupo shouted, turning a little red. Meiko composed herself and turned to Miku, who still had her head down.

"Why? _How_! And how come you didn't tell us!" Meiko yelled in a voice that came off as a little harsher then she wanted it to be.

"It's a long story…" Miku replied in a dead, hollow voice. Meiko and Gakupo were instantly set aback, and even a little bit ashamed, at her tone. The happy Miku, the one that they knew, never used that tone unless it was one of those scarce occurrences when she cried.

"We'll…talk about it at lunch, okay?" Meiko said in a softer tone, resting her hand of Miku's shoulder.

Gakupo looked up to see a blond haired girl with a long side ponytail and another raven haired girl with pigtails, watching the scene with beady eyes. "What're you looking at?" he hissed, and they instantly backed off, muttering things as they left. Without a doubt, Miku could tell that they were off to gossip with their friends about what they've just seen. Miku, Meiko, and Gakupo followed them out, but separated as they went to their own classes. Miku's heart fell as she felt glares and whispers being directed at her.

"Ugh, it's _her…_"

"I didn't know she would turn out like that…"

"She seemed so innocent…guess we can't judge a book by its cover…"

Through all this, Miku just kept her head down, letting her teal bangs covering her ashamed eyes as she trudged to her next class.

*_Was that why everyone was looking at me?_* She thought anxiously, *_I wonder what's going on in everyone's mind…_*

Miku gasped as she remembered someone who she was sure that would be thinking about the whole gossip. *_Len…_*

He was there to see everything first hand, and Miku couldn't even imagine how he felt…especially at that moment…that special moment where she was sure he was going to confess to her and she to him. She reached her History class in time and took a seat next to Sho, who was immersed in a book. He looked up at her and frowned a little.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving her a concerned look through his glasses.

Miku took a deep breath. "I'm sure you've already heard about it…all this gossip flying around…"

"Don't get so worked up about that." Sho shrugged coolly as his bright green eyes relaxed. "I don't even know where they would get those ridiculous rumors from!" He faced Miku with a smile. "Don't worry, it's all just a lie and when the truth comes out, the gossip will die down."

"But it _is_ the truth." Miku admitted in a voice only Sho could hear.

"Wha-?" he exclaimed, shocked. "Why…how….?"

"I'll tell you at lunch." Miku whispered, looking up at Sho pleadingly. She felt people tuning into their conversation and she didn't feel the least bit compelled to disclose any more information about her life then what was already leaked.

Sho nodded with an air of understanding and then put on a cheerful smile to lighten the mood. "So, didja do the homework?"

"Oh yeah, took me a long time." Miku replied, also relaxing. "But, I still don't get why—"

"We have to study about 'some lame dead people'?" Sho finished for her, laughing. "You never change, do you?"

"Nope, never!" Miku laughed, and she suddenly found History much easier to bear. Being with her friend made her forget about all of the glares and whispers she received from other people…but only for a short while, that is.

As soon as she departed class and Sho, she felt like an outcast; nobody smiled, or said hi to her like she was used to. Her only source of normalness was from Rin and Meiko at her next class, Math, and she tried to ignore everyone and try to move on like nothing happened, but an incident after class made her snap.

Meiko, Rin and Miku were walking out of class to lunch when the girls heard a nasty comment behind them.

"Look at her! I can't believe _Kaito _is going out with _her_?"

Miku instantly tensed up and her pace slowed. She looked over her shoulder to see the same gossipers again; Akita Neru and Yokune Ruko, though this time they were with Utane Uta and Yowane Haku.

"I know!" Ruko's voice cackled. Miku's hands curled into angry fists as she tried to heed her friends and leave. But her friend's voices seemed distant and all she could hear were insults.

"She's horrible!" Uta added.

"Forget about them, they have nothing better to do…" Rin told Miku.

"Yeah, and they can't be talking about horrible." Meiko said loudly, glaring at the girls. They didn't seem to notice the comment, because their taunting went on.

"I wonder why he's going out with her." Haku asked aloud.

"Isn't it obvious? She must be a total slut to—"

That was the breaking point for Miku. Before Neru could finish that sentence, Miku turned around in a flash and faced them with a murderous glare. The girl froze as Miku stormed towards them, and she felt mind being clouded by nothing but the anger that boiled in her blood.

"You…know…_nothing_…" Miku growled, pinning Neru on the wall, raising her hand. "…_about me, bitch!_"

The once carefree girl made a movement to get a good strike at Neru when another hand stopped her.

"Don't!" Rin yelled, dragging Miku back. Miku couldn't let her eyes off of Neru, even as she and her clique ran away, terrified.

Her body was trembling in anger as she left with her consoling friends. "Calm down…they aren't worth getting suspended for."

"I know!" Miku spat with such an anger that made Meiko and Rin flinch in surprise. "But I'm so sick of hearing this all day! 'Miku's this, Miku's that…' They…they don't know anything!"

She went on ranting until they finally reached the usual spot outside in the brisk sunshine of September. As they sat around the circular table, Miku noticed that someone was missing and her focus instantly changed.

"Where's Len?" she asked immediately.

"Don't know." Sho shrugged. "Haven't seen him anywhere."

"Oh." Miku muttered disappointedly. She really wanted him to be there when she explained everything, so everything would be clear between them.

"It's lunch time, finally." Meiko said. "So, tell us everything!"

Miku nodded and took in a deep breath. "Well…it was the first week of summer and…"

Miku went on to narrate her life after her parent's deaths to Kaito's arrival into her life, omitting the fact that he was violent and she was basically forced into her job. By the end of her half-baked story, she heard Meiko sniffling a little.

Rin looked slightly hurt when she said, "Why didn't you just stay with one of us? We wouldn't have minded at all!"

A murmur of agreement went around, uplifting Miku's heart. "Thanks guys. But Kaito already offered…so I went ahead."

*_And made a really stupid decision…_* Miku added in her mind. Before anybody could ask any questions, Len walked over to the table; his expression was stony and his eyes were clouded with resentment as he approached Rin.

"Here's your lunch money. You forgot it." He muttered, dropping the coins into Rin's open palm. But instead of looking at her brother, Rin, as well as everyone else, fixated their eyes onto Miku's pained face.

She couldn't even begin to explain the unusual relationship between her and Kaito, but she wanted to say something. She _had_ to say something. She looked up as Len was turning and their eyes briefly met.

Miku was shocked to see Len look at her with such disgust, even for that short second. She never received such hate from him, _ever_. She shut her mouth and stared back down and Meiko, noticing the tension, tried to direct the focus away from Len.

Len wasn't far away from her when she said, "Kaito must've been really nice to just take you in, huh?"

Len froze.

"He probably—" Nobody expected Len to cut Meiko off, but the blond looked over his shoulder and loudly said something he instantly regretted,

"He probably just let her stay so he can fuck her."

"**Len**!" Rin shouted, glaring at him.

But it was too late; the damage was done. Several people, including Akita Neru's group, overheard Len and a whole torrent of whispers formed around them. However, Len wasn't bothered by anyone but Miku.

The tears of shock and disbelief that were brimming in her aquamarine eyes seared his heart, making him feel guilty. He couldn't meet her gaze any longer than a second and he looked down, feeling his face burn.

*_I shouldn't have said that…I'm such a freakin __**idiot**__!_* Len internally shouted at himself. He turned around and saw Miku looking like a scared child, staring at all of the people whispering about her while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Len took a step towards her, but Miku got up, grabbed her bag and ran past Len towards the main building.

"Miku! Wait!" Rin chased after her, glaring at Len as she sped past him. Meiko went up to him angrily.

"She has enough people calling her a slut without you adding more shit to her plate." She hissed before following Miku.

"Nice going." Gakupo muttered sarcastically.

"I-I didn't mean to!" Len sputtered.

"Yeah, but it happened, didn't it?" Gakupo glared.

"Her staying with Kaito…" Sho said. "It isn't what you think it is."

"Then how is it?" Len asked, an anger boiling in him at the blue haired man's name.

"Her parents died over the summer, shrimphead." Gakupo said, causing Len's eyes to widen.

"And Kaito was the one to take her in." Sho finished.

"But then why did he…kiss her?" Len asked.

"That's something you should ask her yourself…instead of going around and calling her things that she isn't."

Len looked down, completely ashamed and disgusted with himself. *_I should've tried to understand.*_

"Oh, and you're lucky you're Rin's brother or else you wouldn't have been standing up right now." Sho said dangerously, his green eyes narrowing into Len's wide ones.

Gakupo got up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "You better straighten this up or else I'm gonna have to beat you up for making her sad."

"No, _we'll_ beat you for making her sadd_er_. Got it?" Sho corrected, also getting up. The two went off, leaving Len alone with his guilty conscience.

*_I'm so stupid!_*

"Len!" a girly voice called out to him. Len looked up and groaned. It was Akita Neru, someone he didn't like being around with. Neru belonged to a group of girls that gossip about everyone all the time, and that annoyed Len very much.

"Yeah?" Len said tonelessly.

"Why don't you hand out with us? You seem a little lonely." Neru said flirtatiously, giving him a bright smile.

*_I wouldn't hang out with you even if someone paid me_* Len thought and nearly said. Luckily, he caught himself from making any more mistakes and said, "I'm okay, thanks."

He was turning away when Neru caught his hand. "Leaving already?" She made a pouting face.

"Uh, yeah….was there anything you wanted to say?"

"Yeah. I'm having a birthday party at some new place in town. I'd love it if you'd come." Neru smiled.

Len scratched his neck, trying to think of an excuse. "Uh, I—"

Just then, the bell rang. "I'll talk to you in P.E, okay?" Neru winked and left before Len could say anything.

Just as quickly Neru left, Len's guilty feelings hit him as he headed to his next class. His guilty conscience kicked into full gear and started telling him for what he said.

*_I shouldn't have said that…I shouldn't have said that…_* was all that went through his mind all during class. As soon as class ended, he decided, *_I'll tell her sorry as soon as I see her._*

He was waiting for her during P.E when Neru approached him again. He couldn't escape her no matter what he said, so she babbled on and on about something Len didn't pay the slightest attention to; he was too busy scanning the ground for Miku, _his_ Miku.

"It's **you!**" Len heard Neru say in a pitch that was different from her babbling. He looked at what Neru was staring at and his eyes widened.

It was Miku and, to Len's utter surprise, she was _smiling_. However, she wasn't smiling at Len; she was focusing her full attention to Neru. She didn't even look at him, nor did a frown come upon her face, showing that she was upset with him being around her. It was like he was invisible to her.

"Hey Neru-chan!" Miku smiled.

"What do you want?" the blond girl asked, just as confused Len was. Miku kept smiling.

Just then, Len noticed there was something wrong with the smile. He saw that her eyes lacked the familiar sapphire twinkle that he grew to adore whenever she smiled. Her usual smile always used to reflect happiness but this one…this one had no emotion in it. _This_ smile seemed to stay in place, as if it were plastered on.

With the fake smile in place, Miku said something that she would've never said if she was in the situation.

"I wanna apologize for earlier."

_**!Author's Note!**_

Gahh, I'm not so sure about this chapter. It started out as something else and ended up as something else. I apologize if the beginning was rushed or this chapter had a lot of mistakes; I didn't wanna cramp everything into this chapter, and just let me know about any mistakes 'cause I'll fix them asap!

Well, I have some questions for my readers…What parts did you like or dislike? Why do you think Miku apologized to Neru? What do you think will happen next?

I'd really like it if you guys would let me know!

~narcotic-lullaby


	3. Reservation

"I wanna apologize for earlier."

Miku…was apologizing to _Neru_? Len vaguely wondered if this was all just a really bad dream, but snapped out of it when he heard Neru's voice.

"It's gonna take more than _that_ for me to forgive you."

Len saw a flash of anger pass in Miku's eye before she unexpectedly bowed and said, "I'm really, _truly sorry_, Neru."

At this point, Len was completely confused. He'd never seen Miku act like this when she was mad, and he'd never seen her act so kind to Neru, someone he knew she didn't get along with.

"_That's_ more like it." Neru said in the same, proud tone. "Now, what do you want?"

"I…want to confirm your Friday reservation at the club—"

"How do _you _know I'm making a reservation?"

"I…" Miku gritted her teeth. "Work there. That's how."

Len was surprised. He didn't know that Miku had a job at a club…but then again, he didn't take the time to listen to her. Right then, Neru made a high pitched, proud laugh that made both Miku and Len want to strangle her. "So, does that mean if I get that place, _you'll_ be working for _me_?"

Miku was taken aback. She hadn't thought of it that way and, of course, it would take only Neru to think of something like that. Neru took Miku's silence as a yes and laughed again.

"That's perfect. Yes, the Friday's the day." Neru made a slightly disgusted face as she said, "Make sure you tell your boyfriend that."

Miku opened her mouth to deny that Kaito was her boyfriend when Neru turned to Len excitedly and asked, "So, you're coming to the party, right?"

Miku turned to leave, but not before she heard Len say, "Yeah."

So he'd come….she'd probably just try to avoid him or treat him like any other customer at the club.

'_He probably just let her stay so he can fuck her!_'

Len's words repeated in her mind over and over again, creating a hollow hole in her heart. No matter what anyone else said about her, Miku always expected Len to be there for her. To at least stand by her side when everyone else was against her and to make her feel like nobody else mattered in the world anyways, as long as they were together.

*_Maybe you shouldn't keep such expectations on people….who knew it would hurt so much when they fell?_* She thought, feeling her eyes water up. She brushed them away quickly and the bell rang, signaling the students to change into their uniforms and head home.

After she tried to ignore the glares and whispers that were directed at her in the locker room, she hurried outside and wished to get home as soon as possible. She wondered where Kaito would be to pick her up and pulled out the cell phone given to her by the blue haired man when she heard her name being called.

"Miku! Wait up!"

This was one of the few times in the day where her name wasn't being followed by something nasty or hurtful so she turned around with a big smile. Her smile quickly evaporated when she saw who it was; Len was walking over to her with an apologetic smile, as of that smile could erase what he said about her.

'_He probably just let her stay so he can fuck her!_'

The words flashed in her head and she turned away, as if she didn't hear anything.

*_Did I do the wrong thing? I should at least listen to what he has to say…_* She thought guiltily.

"Miku, wait!" Len shouted again, this time with a frown. He wanted to take everything he said and make everything right again. Of course, she'll still be a little steamed, but that's okay…he'd take her to the Corner Café after school and buy her favorite caramel dessert, just like they always used to do…

*_No._* Miku thought firmly, walking away more confidently. *_He became like everyone else! He's even hanging out with Neru…he's going to her party, darn it!_*

A wave of jealousy engulfed Miku and she tried to ignore Len, who just appeared by her side. The blond boy became disheartened, and a little annoyed.

*_Why won't she look at me?_*

Len turned himself to face Miku, gently placing his hands on her shoulder causing him to block her way and forcing her to look at him.

"What? Forgot something to say?" Miku asked coldly.

Len bit his lip, feeling guilty. He bore his sad, green eyes into Miku's furious blue ones and honestly said, "I'm sorry…I didn't know …"

"Yeah, you and everyone else…" she muttered. She looked into his eyes, starting to melt under the sincerity of his words. She twirled a bit of her teal hair on her finger and looked away, becoming slightly mad at herself.

*_Geez, Miku, why are you such a softie?_* she thought, looking back into Len's eyes and Len smiled slightly, feeling that Miku was giving in, just like he'd hoped. Just then, her phone chimed happily in her hand, entering the air around them like an unwelcome intruder. Miku didn't even look at who was calling before she backed away from Len and said, "I've…got to go."

Len's smiled faded, and he stared at Miku's retreating back. *_I wonder what's it gonna take…_*

Miku bit her lip and saw who was called. She sighed and reluctantly answered the phone. "Yeah, Kaito?"

"Miku? Where are you? I'm waaaaiting!" Judging by his tone, Miku could tell that Kaito was extremely happy, especially since he was able to finalize an event at his club. The event being Neru's birthday party, in which lots of money was going to be earned from. Miku hated the thought of working for Neru; she would've never apologized to Neru or offer her a place at the club if it wasn't for Kaito…

~_Flashback— During Lunch~_

Miku ran- ran as fast as she could to get away from that place. She didn't notice who she was passing; not even a certain blue haired man…She didn't know that Len, of all people would be the one to turn against her; in fact, she thought he'd be the _last_ one…

As tears streaked down her face, she stopped by the girls bathroom door, breaking down. She slid down the wall slowly, thinking about all those people…all those whispers…those lies…

"Miku!" Miku looked back and saw Meiko and Rin rushing to her, with tense expressions.

"Oh, Miku…" Rin crouched down and hugged her while Meiko patted her back.

"Miku…?" All three of the girls looked up to see Kaito looking at them, with a sorry expression on his face. At once, Miku cleared her tears and stood up to face him.

"Yeah?" she asked. He took a step toward her and intimately looked into her eyes. He snaked his hand into hers and asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing…" Miku replied, with a trace of a blush. Even though she hated the guy, he was still undeniably charming….

*_Snap out of it, Miku!*_ the girl shook her head and looked Kaito straight in the eye. "I'm serious, it's nothing."

"I'm not believing you." Kaito looked up at Rin and Meiko. "What happened?"

"Well—" Rin started, but Meiko pushed her slightly with her elbow.

"I think you should ask her yourself." Meiko said with a broad grin. Miku automatically wanted to tell her that it wasn't what she was thinking, but Meiko left, dragging and unsure Rin by the hand away. She winked and mouthed, "Tell us all about it later!"

"Don't leave me here…!" she tried to mouth back, but her friends weren't paying attention. *_That Meiko…_* Miku thought, annoyed.

She turned to Kaito. "It's nothing, don't worry about me…"

"I have to. You can't be going out like this." Kaito handed her a handkerchief. Miku took it, but instead of using it, she eyed Kaito suspiciously. He didn't seem to notice because he said, "You look better when you smile..."

Miku tried to hide the blush that lit her face with the handkerchief and Kaito stood patiently, holding Miku as gently as he could. It was moments like these where Miku believed that there might actually be some good in Kaito…he just needed to stop being so obsessed with his business…

It was all too good to be true, Miku realized, when Kaito said, "Miku… I need you do me a favor."

Miku sighed and asked, "What is it?"

"A student at this school made a reservation at the club and I want you to confirm the date with her."

Miku raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "Why don't you just call her and ask?"

"Her phone's busy every time I try…besides, I think it'll be better if you just talk to her. It'll clear up any concerns."

"Fine…what's her name?"

"Um…" Kaito checked his phone. "Ms. Akita Neru."

"Neru? I can't talk to her!" Miku said incredulously.

"Why not?"

"We got into an argument earlier." Miku spat. Miku still slightly regretted Rin having to stop her from hitting Neru.

"Then straighten it up." Kaito said simply, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. "We can't lose that reservation; she's going to put so much money on it…"

Miku looked at him defiantly. "No."

"_What?_"

"I won't. Do you know what she said to me? I'm not about to go and apologize to her!"

"I don't _care_ what she said to you." Kaito's grip tightened on Miku as she watched him become the true person she came to know. "_I'm_ not gonna lose so much money just because you couldn't solve a stupid, childish argument!"

Right then, the bell rang, and Miku could hear students approaching the hall already. Kaito's grip started to cause tears to sting Miku's eyes and she looked down, letter her bangs hide her eyes. "Fine. Let go of me."

Kaito did, and Miku tried to get away from there as possible, tears streaking down her face.

~_End Flashback~_

"…So, what do you think? Are you up for it?"

Kaito's voice broke Miku out of her thought and she said, "Huh?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Kaito asked. "Don't you wanna go out today? I've canceled your performance today so we can go!"

"Um…." Miku started.

"Great! Hurry up and get here, then! We'll go home first, okay?" He hung up.

Miku bit her lip. She didn't want to go; all she wanted to do was stay home and relax. But, then again, she wouldn't have to perform today…

Miku looked up and closed her eyes, letting the autumn wind flow around her, causing her teal hair to flow behind her.

*_I wonder if…things can ever get better…_*

Len was quiet as he entered his house with Rin, who was chatting on the phone with Meiko.

"Ohmaigosh, seriously? That's awesome, Meiko! I knew you'd get the part!" Rin said cheerfully. She looked at her brother and told him, "Meiko's got a part in the play! Wanna go to her rehearsals sometime?"

Len looked at her and mumbled. "Sure, whatever."

Rin's face fell and she watched her brother walk sullenly up the stairs to his room. "Uh, yeah, Meiko…Hey, I'll call you back after a sec, okay? Okay, bye!"

She set her cell down and went up the stairs after Len. "What's wrong?"

Len shook his head. "Nothing."

"Oh, don't lie. It's all over your face." Rin said, crossing her arms. That meant she was all business and Len knew she wouldn't leave until she got it out of him.

"Miku." He muttered.

Rin sighed. "Well, it _is_ kind of your fault…"

"I _know_, Rin. I went to say sorry to her but she barely even wanted to look at me." Len said sadly.

To her brother's surprise, Rin smiled. "Don't worry, I know just the thing to patch up things between you guys."

"Really?"

Rin nodded. "I do. Now, don't frown! You know you always look like a sad puppy when you do that!"

She left, going back to her cell to chat with Meiko. Feeling a little bit more hopeful, Len crashed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

*_Maybe…things _can _get better!_*

_**~Author's Note!**_

Wow, this chappy was extremely hard to write! Sorry it took so long guys! Xp I hope to get the next one out soon; I have an idea about what I'm going to do and hopefully it'll work out Xp

I apologize for any mistakes found in this chapter (if you do find any, please tell me!) and I hope you all liked it!

And, a **BIG** thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You guys are awesome! :D

~narcotic-lullaby


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